By GRAHAM BROOKS / Staff Writer

CHELSEA–The Chelsea Hornets record was on the line as they faced off against the once beaten Helena Huskies at home on Friday, Sept. 25.

Chelsea’s first points of the night came on a four-yard touchdown run by AJ Jones to cap off a 29-yard drive.

Jones would finish with 79 yards on 22 carries while adding two touchdowns on the night.

At the end of the first quarter Chelsea led Helena 7-0.

The second quarter saw a couple touchdowns by the Hornets offense and midway through the second quarter Chelsea quarterback Matthew Marquet hooked up with Chelsea wide receiver Jalyn Vickers for a 28 yard touchdown pass to extend the lead to 14-0.

Another Chelsea running back found the end zone in the second quarter as Zalon Reynolds raced 32 yards for a touchdown with 1:30 remaining in the half to give Chelsea a 21-0 lead heading to the locker room.

Reynolds would finish as the Hornets leading rusher on the night with 119 yards and one touchdown on 15 carries.

The Hornets raced out to a 27-0 lead early in the third quarter and all signs were pointing to a Chelsea blowout, but a third quarter surge by Helena made things interesting.

With Chelsea leading 27-13 early in the third quarter, Helena’s offense drove the ball near midfield where they faced a critical 4th and 5 play. Helena elected to keep the offense on the field and that’s when Chelsea defensive back Luke Ganus picked off Helena quarterback Riley Davis’ pass and returned it 60 yards for a touchdown to extend the lead to 34-13 and essentially preserve the victory for the Hornets.

Chelsea head coach Chris Elmore has been proud of his defense so far this year and was glad to see the huge takeaway in the third quarter.

“I was proud of the perseverance at the end because Helena did have momentum and that’s to their credit,” said Elmore. “It could’ve easily gone the other way in a hurry and the pick six I thought was huge because if they go down and score right there it’s really anybody’s ball game. That kind of gave us the cushion we needed to finish the deal.”

Helena would get back within 14 as Davis would rebound to throw a 20 yard touchdown pass to Huskies wide receiver Phildon Dublin on the next drive to make the score 34-20.

At this point it was too little, too late for the Huskies as Chelsea would add another score to hold on to win 40-20 and remain undefeated.

Marquet finished 11-16 passing for 139 yards and two touchdowns and no interceptions for the Hornets.

Chelsea moved to 5-0 on the year, as they will host Opelika at home next week in a region game.

Helena dropped to 3-2 on the year and will try and bounce back with a win as they face region opponent Jemison on the road.